The process of switching from one physical sex and social gender to the other only because one is not comfortable with the gender that Allah the Almighty has created one with, or because he/she has a desire to be one of the opposite sex, is something abnormal and against the nature of Allah Almighty. Therefore, it is prohibited according to the Islamic sharia.    

The Islamic FiqhAcademy, at the Muslim World League, in its 11th meeting session convened in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, on Sunday, in the period from Rajab, 13 – 20, 1409, A.H., which corresponds to February 19 – 26, 1989, discussed the issue of transforming the male into a female, and vice versa. After investigation and discussion among its members, the Assembly decided the following:

First, the male whose organs of masculinity are complete, and the female whose organs of femininity are complete, are not legally allowed to change their identities into the opposite sex, and the attempt of both to achieve trans-sexuality is a crime and the person who commits such crime is held liable to be punished.

This is because it is a change of Allah’s creation, and He the Almighty has prohibited making such changes, as He says, telling about the devil’s saying:(I will mislead them, and I will create in them false desires; I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and to deface the (fair) nature created by God. Whoever, forsaking God, takes Satan for a friend, hath of a surety suffered a loss that is manifest) (An-Nisaa’ 4: 119).

Imam Muslim has reported about Ibn Mas`ud(may Allah be pleased with him), who narrated about the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said: “Allah has cursed the women who perform tattoo and the women who have tattooing performed on them; the women who perform thinning of their eyebrows and the women who have their eyebrows thinned, and the women who split their teeth for showing the beauty of their teeth, and the women who change the creation of Allah the Almighty“, then Ibn Mas`ud said: “I do curse those whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has cursed, and that was in Allah’s Book – he means Allah’s saying:

(What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from the people of the townships, – belongs to Allah, – to His Messenger and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; in order that it may not (merely) make a circuit between the wealthy among you. So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you. And fear Allah; for Allah is strict in Punishment.) (Al-Hashr 59: 7).

Second, those in whose organs appear both the indications of womanhood and manhood together, should be examined thoroughly, and if the marks of masculinity are more prominent on them, they have the right to be medically treated so as to eliminate the doubtful marks of their masculinity from them, and those who have the marks of femininity as more prominent on them, have the right to be treated medically to eliminate the doubtful marks of their femininity from them. This is so, whether the treatment was done by surgery or by hormones, because this is considered an illness; hence the treatment is meant to cure and treat, and not to change the creation of Allah the Almighty.